News

Thu 05 Apr 2018

Gender pay gap data released

Over 10,000 companies have now published their gender pay data with more than 1000 reporting their figures on the last day before yesterdays deadline.

The figures indicate more than 75% of large UK companies pay men more than women on average and around 15% pay women more than men. These figures are based on the median measure – the level of pay that separates the top half of earners from the lower half of earners.

Gender pay reporting shows the difference in the average pay for men and women who work for a particular employer. This is different to equal pay which is a long standing legal requirement (under the Equal Pay Act 1970 and more recently the Equality Act 2010) that requires men and women who are employed to do the same or a similar job to be paid the same. This means that a company could satisfy its equal pay obligations by paying men and women the same salary for similar roles but still have a gender pay gap if a majority of men are in senior positions.

Employment specialist and Senior Associate Julie Edmonds comments 'A significant number of employers that were required to report their gender pay figures this week have failed to hit the deadline and they will now face enforcement action. By the government introducing this new obligation for large employers with more than 250 employees, it has highlighted the issue of pay equality, but of course what the figures do not tell us are the reasons for the gap. It is clear that particular industries and sectors including finance, education and construction have seen some of the largest gender pay gaps but what business owners need to look at now is what can be done to narrow the gender pay gap, whether that involves a change in their company culture, a new approach to flexible working or evaluating their recruitment processes.'

Tyla Robins discusses Business LPA's and why it is important for any business owner to consider what would happen to their business if they were unable to make decisions about its running.
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